L'Effort Camerounais (English Version)

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
I give you my welcome. I am very happy to meet with you on the occasion of your visit ad limina! I thank Monsignor Samuel Kleda, President of your Episcopal Conference, for the words he addressed to me on your behalf. I ask you to transmit my warm greetings to all your diocesans, in particular to the priests, the men and women religious, the laity engaged in pastoral service as well as all the inhabitants of Cameroon.

I also address a fraternal greeting to Cardinal Christian Tumi. May your prayer at the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul comfort you in faith and perseverance for the exercise of your pastoral charge, at the service of the people entrusted to you. They are for us the models we must follow in the total gift that they have made of themselves – to the price of their blood – to Christ and to his Gospel.

Your visit gives me the occasion to renew to you my encouragement and my confidence, and to stress the spirit of communion that you have at heart to keep with the Apostolic See. For the Gospel to touch and convert hearts profoundly, we must in fact remember that it is only by being united in love that we can give witness in a genuine and effective way. Unity and diversity are for you realities to maintain firmly connected to do justice to the human and spiritual richness of your dioceses, which is expressed in many ways. Moreover, I hope that the good collaboration between the Church, the State and the Cameroonian society as a whole, which was manifested recently by the signing of an Agreement

-Framework between the Holy See and the Republic of Cameroon,will bear abundant fruits. I invite you to put that Agreement to work concretely, as the juridical recognition of numerous ecclesial institutions will give them greater influence, for the benefit not only of the Church , but of the whole of Cameroonian society.

In this connection, I wish to greet the considerable engagement of your local Churches in a great number of social works. This engagement in educational, health, and charitable areas is recognized and appreciated by the Civil Authorities; it must be the place of a fruitful collaboration between the State and the Church, in full respect of the latter. Engagement in social works is an integral part of evangelization, as there is a profound connection between evangelisation and human promotion. The latter must be expressed and developed in all evangelizing action (cf. Evangelii gaudium, n. 178). Therefore, I encourage you to persevere in the care you give to the weak, by supporting materially and spiritually all those who consecrate themselves there, in particular the members of the religious Institutes and the associated laymen. My heartfelt thanks to them all for the dedication and genuine witness they give of the love of Christ for all men.

Your evangelising action will be rendered that much more effective, so that the Gospel is really lived by those who have received it and professed it. Found there is the means to attract to Christ those who still do not know him, by showing them the strength of his love which is capable of transforming and illumining men’s life. It is only in this way that we can face, in vigilance but with serenity, the development of many new propositions that seduce spirits without renewing hearts profoundly. Moreover, the important presence of Muslims in certain of your dioceses, is a pressing invitation to witness courageously and joyfully faith in the Risen Christ. To develop the dialogue of life with Muslims, in a spirit of mutual trust is indispensable today to maintain a climate of peaceful coexistence, and to discourage the development of violence of which Christians are victims in certain regions of the Continent.

It seems to me essential, then, as a priority, to pursue your action aimed at implanting and strengthening the faith in the hearts of the faithful. Formation is an essential element in the development of the People of God, particularly in these times when relativism and secularization are beginning to take root in Africa. Very many lay persons are involved in their parishes and in movements, and they are indeed vital to the handing on of the faith. Their formation must be solid and ongoing. I ask you to convey to these lay faithful and to all involved in this work of formation my appreciation and my warmest encouragement.

Families, equally, must continue to be the focus of your particular care, especially today as they experience grave hardships – be they poverty, displacement of peoples, lack of security, the temptation to return to ancestral practices incompatible with the Christian faith, or even new lifestyles proposed by a secularized world. I invite you to take full advantage of the tenth Plenary Assembly of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa held in the Congo, in whose work you took part, and which – I have no doubt – will bear abundant fruit.

Moreover, it is essential that the clergy give witness of a life inhabited by the Lord, coherent with the exigencies and principles of the Gospel. I wish to express to all the priests my thanks for the apostolic zeal of which they make proof, often in difficult and precarious conditions, and I assure them of my closeness and my prayer. It is appropriate, nevertheless, to remain vigilant in the discernment and support of priestly vocations – thanks be to God, numerous in Cameroon – and also to support the permanent formation and the spiritual life of priests for whom you are attentive fathers, while the temptations of the world are numerous, in particular those of power, of honors and of money. On this last point in particular, the adverse witness that could be given by bad management of goods, personal enrichment or waste would be particularly scandalous in a region where many people lack the necessary.

Moreover, the unity of the clergy is an indispensable element of witness rendered to the Risen Christ: “that they may all be one, so that the world will believe” (John 17:21); it is a question of the unity of Bishops, often confronted by the same challenges and called to contribute common and concerted solutions, or of the unity of the presbyterium which the Lord calls to build each day overlooking the prejudices, notably the ethnic.

Finally, consecrated life calls for such support, so that, rooted in Christ at the service of the Kingdom, it remains always a prophetic witness and a model in the matter of reconciliation, of justice and of peace (cf. Evangelii gaudium, n. 117). I invite you to contribute your support to the religious Institutes in their efforts of human and spiritual formation, and to accept and support, with prudent discernment, new initiatives.

Dear brothers, may the courageous efforts of evangelization that you deploy in your pastoral ministry bear numerous fruits of conversion. I invite you to render thanks without ceasing and to renew the gift of yourselves to Christ and to the people entrusted to you. Without fearing the difficulties, you will go forward courageously, with a renewed missionary spirit, in order to take the Good News to all those that still await it or who are in greatest need of it. I entrust you all, as well as your dioceses, to the intercession of Saint John Paul II, who visited your country twice, and to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary. May God bless you!
Source: Zenit. org

By Fr. Gerald Nyuykongmo Jumbam

Sometime ago, a debate on Boko Haram came to the fore in some columns of L’Effort camerounais. The debate centred on the havoc Boko Haram is causing in Nigeria and now Cameroon. It further addressed the Church’s stance on this issue and spoke about the Theory of a Just War and how terrorist challenges could be handled in Africa.

This debate is of vital importance and should not be allowed to slip from public view. But the Theory of a Just War was mostly used to defend the fact that the terrorist group must be destroyed so that our country and Nigeria can be freed from a deadly threat. This point deserves our careful attention as it is one of the core issues in this article.

A small number of zealots, convinced they know God more than anyone else, have been capable of almost anything. It is a fallen world threatened by agents of terror who kill without conscience and beat, bomb, and lynch unarmed civilians in the name of religion. This is what Boko Haram is doing for a living. What role can a Christian play today in West or Central Africa in grappling with insecurity?

With Boko Haram, there is no doubt that we are dealing with a ruthless enemy. Although the work of dialogue with them may appear discouraging, I believe it is not one day too soon to begin. It is right to stop Boko Haram, but it is not right to stop it with a bomb. Many are strangely unaware of the politics on which Boko Haram sharpens its iron tooth. Its victims in Nigeria who know it better know it is hot soup that you do not gulp down at once. Boko Haram is a complex mixture of wild politics and wild religion that produces a toxic brew intoxicating entire peoples. So we do not need war to destroy it. In Cameroon we need to teach ourselves not to be afraid of the unknown and the complicated by confronting the hard topics of our country’s predicament. What we need is more patriotism rather than narrow ethnic and religious sentiments, the type that has ruined Nigeria since its independence. We need to tackle corruption because it unfortunately gives birth to such monsters of social divide.

I remember, in one of those fine traditional African evening fireside chats, we were taught by our father that when you see a big python ready to bite you, do not wait until it strikes before you crush its head. Naturally anyone who detonates a car bomb in a market deserves to spend the rest of his life roasting over an open fire or to have his head chopped off. This is the day-to-day logic. But we do not have to do that because if we do we shall descend to our enemy’s level. We should not kill because unlike them we are Christian. The python may strike, but it is only a python and human beings are higher than pythons. The collapse of America’s tit-for-tat foreign policy is a warning to all war mongers.

A Christian’s position should rather be peacemaking not war mongering. His pacifism is active not passive and his warring attitude is that of a lover not a monger. Jesus’ words are precise: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”. These words form the foundation of Christian ethics on war and terrorism. Yet there are no easy answers or simple solutions to these things for we are not die-hard pacifists who say violence is never justified.

It is said that the kind of simplistic peace we opt for is dangerously naive. Some have quoted St. Augustine’s City of God to support the thesis that dialogue is sometimes a fool’s errand and war is necessary simply because man is fallen. On this topic the Church is loaded with experience gained many generations after Augustine that the brilliant but small brain of an Augustine cannot equal that experience. The Church speaks like an adult mother, and says: “Look my children, there was a time I believed that war was inevitable and thus sought to put some strict just war conditions to limit its effects. I have championed holy wars, fought crusades and brought some small peace with the Inquisition. I have seen a thing or two and have observed that those things do not help. Today I have changed the rhythm of the dance; I have adopted a different style that says peace is possible, so let us work tirelessly for peaceful solutions and stop joking with human life in the name of war.”

Time and again, religious fundamentalism raises its ugly head in all religions because fanatics seem to be everywhere. In fact, just as we call on Moslems to speak out against violence, so too must Christians and African traditionalists openly challenge those who foster hatred in the name of faith. This means the ill-informed rhetoric of some preachers about Islam as well as the callous certainty that Jesus will arrive in the next couple of weeks arrogantly lectured on pulpits these days will have to stop.
Even in world politics, the common language today is about peacekeeping, peacemaking, diplomacy, dialogue and humanitarian intervention. The Theory of a Just War has gained unpopularity in the post-World War II and post Vatican II era. Before, the moral agent of any war in the Just War Theory was a sovereign state. In the Church’s eyes today that moral agent must only be an International Organisation (UNO for example) recognised by the world’s peace-loving people. A country dares not declare war on another - whatever sanctimonious reasons it may hold - in the name of just war. But we do not talk about just war when we are after terrorist groups. We talk about stopping Boko Haram.

Boko Haram provides hard but important lessons about the dangers all around us. First, that religion is an amazingly powerful force but can be vicious too when masterminded by troublemakers. Second, that politics devoid of God is a wide open road to misery and that politics mixed with the toxic brew of religion, the type witnessed in Iraq, Iran, and now neighbouring Nigeria, is hell let loose. Third, that an individual terrorist can blow up a whole town. Fourth, that quite apart from chemical, nuclear or biological weapons, a devious local plan can use automatic arms, box matches, knives, “garri” stuff, fertilisers and commercial buses for mass destruction.

Man hardly learns from history. We have tried to work out conflicts by our own power and by the force of arms. Our efforts have been in vain. It is high time we try God and his peace! Since St. Pope John XXIII the Church has repeatedly spoken about peace, not the peace of the Just War Theory. Yes, contrary to the rest of mankind let us enlist for ourselves an army without weapons, without war, without bloodshed, without wrath, without stain. Our troubled generation is in dire need of loyal combatants to the Most High’s army.

By Jude Abanseka

A Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester has been laid to his final resting place after contributing enormously to the Catholic Church’s growth in Bamenda Archdiocese. Pa Bernard Aza Fombo, who died on August 3, 2014, was buried in his native Our Lady of Lourdes Parish church in Njindom on September 19, 2014. The Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda Mgr. Agapitus Nfon and 18 co-celebrating priests celebrated the Requiem Mass.

In his sermon, the Rector of Mbengwi Quasi Parish, Rev. Fr. Anthony Viban, said in Cameroon death is always taken seriously. He added that the community comes to a halt because death is an important event, a solemn moment of grief, a time of reconciliation and of reunion for families and friends. He said this indicates that human life is valued.

Fr. Viban then explained to the congregation how the church considers the death of a Christian. He said “The Church, as mother, has borne a Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly life, accompanies him at his journey’s end to surrender him into the Father’s hands. The Church offers her departed child to the Father in Christ, the child of his grace, and she commits to the earth, in the hope that the seed of the body will rise in glory.”

Fr. Viban said according to the Liturgy of the Catholic Christian Funeral Rite, the Church prays that her sons and daughters who, through Baptism have been incorporated into the dead and risen Christ, may pass with him from death to life, and that being purified in soul, they may be admitted to the company of the Saints and of the Elect in Heaven, while their body awaits the blessed hope of Christ’s return and the resurrection of the dead.

He noted that at the funeral of a departed Christian, the Christian community proclaims aloud, and with a lively hope, its belief in the final article of the Apostles’ Creed which says: “I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”.

The heavily-attended Mass brought together hundreds of Christians from various denominations at home and abroad and several traditional rulers. After singing their anthem at the end of the Mass, Catholic Men Association, CMA members handed Pa Fombo’s uniform to one of his sons thus inviting him to join the association.

Pa Bernard Aza Fombo was born in 1930 to His Royal Highness, the late Fon Tah Fombo of Njindom and Mama Angela Ngwei Fombo. He was baptised on Friday, December 28, 1945. He did his primary education in Njindom and Tiko. He then went to CCAST Bambili, Grade I Teachers Training College, ENS Bambili and the University of Yaoundé I, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.

His career began as a primary school teacher in Bafut and then Njindom where he was later appointed headmaster of Catholic School, Njindom. Pa Fombo taught Geography, History and Economics in over ten schools in Cameroon. His relentless efforts and selfless services were recognised through several promotions to the positions of Discipline Master, Vice Principal and Principal. He retired early from his last service as the pioneer Principal of Government Secondary School, GSS, Tatum.

Back home, he fulfilled his role as a palace son diligently, ensuring that peace and tranquility reigned. Pa Fombo saw to it that his Njindom village had pipe borne water, electricity and the telephone. In addition to supporting the opening of a Government Technical High School in Njindom, Pa also donated the land on which the school’s first structure was built. He offered the land on which the presbytery and Njindom Parish church stand.

He was actively engaged in the activities of his local church in particular and Bamenda Archdiocese as a whole. He taught Christian doctrine in Kaele, served as Parish Pastoral Council Chairperson in Nkambe, Wum and in Njindom. He was a committed member of the Parish formation Team in Njindom on the new way of being church. He was the Founding Father of the Bible Translation Committee that has produced the Metta Bible. Pa Fombo worked hard to acquire land for the Church in Nkambe, Wum and in Njindom, Mbengwi and Bome Njikwa. He fought hard for the creation of the Cistercian Abbey in Mbengwi. He died when the Catholic Church in Mbengwi had assigned him to ask for mission land from the Traditional Council of Ngyembo.

Thanks to him the Catholic Church in Bamenda Archdiocese has St. Joseph Catholic Comprehensive High School Mbengwi. He sacrificed his life and Family values to have the Catholic Health Centre in Njindom, participated in leading church organisations and the training of those who would succeed him.

At the diocesan level, Pa was a core CAP member, a group of Catholic Professionals who are special advisors to the Archbishop of Bamenda. His efforts and contributions to the church were recognised through a recent Papal appointment as a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester. The Archbishop of Bamenda later decorated him as a Knight. Pa leaves behind his wife, Mami Rose Fombo, six children, seven grandchildren and two great grand children. He touched and impacted the lives of several people in many positive ways.

By Fr. Jean-Robert Ngandjui

In the last edition, we discussed some elements for pastoral conversion. It takes a strong leadership for any pastoral conversion. Following our last discussion on elements for pastoral conversion, the current issue will discuss the principles for pastoral governance. In fact, our Church is a hierarchical organisation (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 904 & 1569) having the clergy at the top.

The clergy does much of the Church’s governance (1983 Code of Canon Law Book II, Part II, Section I). Any pastoral conversion needs a strong leadership from the clergy. In fact, gathered in Rome during their Synod on the New Evangelisation, (October 7-28, 2012) the bishops called for pastoral conversion as expressed in proposition 22: "The New Evangelisation requires personal and communal conversion, new methods of evangelisation and renewal of the pastoral structures, to be able to move from a pastoral strategy of maintenance to a pastoral position that is truly missionary. The New Evangelisation guides us to an authentic pastoral conversion which moves us to attitudes and initiatives which lead to evaluations and changes in the dynamics of pastoral structures which no longer respond to the evangelical demands of the current time." (Proposition 22, of the Synod on the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith).

Pastoral conversion cannot be effective unless there is a reform of the governing style as pastoral choices in our Church are made by those having the governing power. And yet there is a kind of pastoral orientation that is more preoccupied with the transmission of Christian values than the source of these values that is Christ. The pastoral orientation in use these days in our dioceses seems to be only preoccupied with nourishing the faith and not really concerned with awakening it or facilitating its birth. The present pastoral orientation takes for granted the fundamental element of our Christian faith. In fact what is being done at this time is good and should be kept; but it is equally important to develop, next to the ordinary pastoral care, a missionary activity directed toward non believers and carried out by the entire Christian community.

Principles New Evangelisation governance

A shared pastoral vision: it is about working toward establishing a shared pastoral vision. Most communities waste time and energy in endless discussions, quarrels, divisions and misunderstandings. A shared vision will help against such waste of time. Jesus rallied his Apostles who espoused His ideas, His vision of the Kingdom and these Apostles gave their lives for Jesus and His vision. This is what should be happening at the diocesan, parish and the Small Christian community levels.

Missionary curiosity: this is openness to diverse pastoral experiences, bringing in resource people able to enlighten the community on some aspects and discern what could be useful for the community. Individual communities, dioceses should be open to know what is happening elsewhere to be inspired by it.

The continuous acquisition and improvement of evangelisation methods: A reality with the New Evangelisation is that methods are not set but are always adapting to new situations that arise. These methods, however, must be credible, realistic, conducive to the context, the charisms and the competencies present in the community.

A transversal and integrated organisation clearly oriented toward evangelisation, making choices and implementing them according to priorities.

Adopting a style of government that integrates the laity who can bring in their gifts and talents. Even if the clergy is in charge, it cannot be achieved without the laity’s collaboration (Christi fideles Laici, 23).

An upward mobility toward change: This change has to be done step by step, considering the variety of cultures, habits and spirituality within the community.

Finally showing in one's deeds that evangelisation is the work of the Holy Spirit that leads missionaries, prepare hearts, and goes before them. This is done by giving priority to prayer, praise, adoration, and the Holy Spirit’s invocation.

By Rev. Fr. Giles N. Forteh

Those who always travel in their private cars miss a great deal of fun. Theirs is a monotony they might need to break by taking public transport once in a while. The public transport bus is the meeting place of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

In short, when travelling by the public transport bus, you encounter the world and plumb the depths of your society’s psyche. People of diverse social and cultural backgrounds are put into a single box. Their temperaments display an endless variety as you will find the calm, gentle, hospitable and God-fearing, sitting side by side with the irritable, quarrelsome and pugnacious.

Each person has his or her take on the day’s social, moral, religious and political issues and everyone seems to know everything down to the minutest detail. The bus often provides a scene for debates on a wide scope of issues. The keen listener is able to know what the people of his society think and how they react to topical issues. There is also a lot of information to be gathered, raw sociological data. The bus is also a school. Sometimes, the argument generates more heat than light and, in some very extreme cases, they end up in a battle of words. Even actual combat cannot be ruled out completely. Some drivers have had to stop the bus to stop a fight.

Drivers too belong to a special register. While some are very respectful and mindful of the grave responsibility which they have over the safety of their passengers, others are overbearing, unfriendly and very inattentive. Curiously, whatever the drivers may be, each finds his supporters in the bus. Some passengers are always in haste and would like the driver to go at a very high speed. Others are temperamentally cautious and would like the driver to respect all traffic regulations.

In July 2014, we boarded a bus in one of the agencies in Bamenda. Our destination was Yaoundé and the fifty-two seater was full to its limits. Shortly before departure, there was an interesting publicity moment. The bread-dealers, traditional doctors, preachers, booksellers, newspaper vendors and honey traders took their turns. They presented their products with concision and a captivating mastery.

The preacher was the first to take the floor. He began by inviting everyone to repentance and ended with a short prayer, asking Jesus to cover the journey with his blood. When the prayer was over, he asked for financial donations to finance his ministry. “Remember that God loves a cheerful giver,’ he told the travellers. While his sympathisers wished him well, those who paid no attention to what he was doing asked him to go and work in his farm. This led to a discussion on fake preachers, which was interrupted by the self-introduction of a bread seller. “Goodbye to hunger” were his opening sentences. He proceeded to explain the chemical composition and nutritive value of his bread. When his work was done, the honey dealer took over. After a denunciation of the dishonesty of those who adulterate pure honey by adding water and some substances to it to increase the quantity and make illicit gains, he told us that his honey from the rocks of Oku was very pure. A newspaper vendor stepped in announcing the front-page articles and news headlines: “Government increases salaries by 5 percent, “Trade Unions threaten strikes;” “Report on the poor performance of the Indomitable Lions awaited.” There were various reactions to these articles. While some passengers thought that consistency and implementation were not the Cameroon government’s common characteristics, others adopted a wait-and-see posture.

At this point, the driver got into the bus. It was take-off time. As we drove out of the park, a young man closed the door. “I am Doctor Leaf, your herbalist who produces rapid results. People call me the defeater of diseases.” With concision and mastery he presented a variety of locally prepared drugs. Some passengers bought some of the drugs. Others expressed very serious concerns about the treatment that is not standardised. The doctor alighted from the bus when we reached the first toll gate.

A few minutes later, a man received a call by phone from his wife. He spoke very loudly insulting his wife. Then he switched off the phone and told those who sat close to him that women were the main cause of misery in homes. Without knowing it, he was shaking a beehive. Women rose to defend themselves against what they considered to be an unfair accusation. Taking their turns, women chastised irresponsible men who do not stand up to their responsibilities as husbands and parents. Personal experiences were shared to elucidate the point, although some men were not less robust in their defence of the menfolk.

It was time for the driver to smoke a cigarette. When one of the passengers reminded him that one of the notices in the bus forbade smoking in an absolute manner, he responded that it was the cigarette that kept him awake and that the notices were meant for passengers.As we rolled on, some passengers kept eating and buying food items at every toll gate. A brief stop at Makenene was a good chance to replenish their stock. Going from one topic of discussion to another, there was laughter and fun. We were in a school of life. Arrival at the park was closing time.

By Singfred Senior, BSM

A theologian on Consecrated Life cum lecturer at the Rome Pontifical Urban University, Sr. Gloria Wirba, has reminded Consecrated People in Buea Diocese that Consecrated Life is not for apostolates but to be with Christ.

Sr. Wirba, a Tertiarry Franciscan Sister was speaking on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at St. Anthony Parish Buea Town during a meeting of Consecrated People in Buea Diocese on “The challenges of the African Consecrated People”

She said while it is true that apostolic activity for Institutes of Apostolic Life is essential, it is also true that this form of life cannot be reduced to mere services in the Church, however, important.

She noted that the first challenge African Religious are facing today consists of identifying and subsequently implementing their founding charism in the present socio-cultural context. Sr. Wirba said multiplying diocesan institutes for their own sake could be a counter witness.
She underscored the importance of institutional charisms and noted that it raises critical problems for a majority of African indigenous congregations as most of them were founded in the same way like schools by people who do not understand Consecrated Life and therefore cannot live it. “This often leads to a crisis of identity among members,” she stressed.

Not being members of institutes they founded, some do not present themselves as concrete models for members and this makes it difficult for members to understand their charism if there is any, she explained.

Sr. Wirba urged Religious Institutes to strive to be self –reliant and for the need to update formation programmes, choose competent formators, and adequate structures to help their members discover and live their charisms.

Seven congregations were represented in the meeting in which members also discussed the upcoming celebration of the Year for Religious which Pope Francis has decreed.

Bishop Nkea gives directives on Eucharistic Liturgy in Mamfe. To mark the first anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination, the Bishop of Mamfe, His Lordship Andrew Nkea, has published his first Pastoral Letter giving directives on how the Eucharistic Liturgy should be celebrated in Mamfe.
In a13-point document entitled, Directives on the Liturgy published on August 23, 2014, Bishop Nkea states that the Pastoral Letter is to help the faithful of Mamfe to worship God in the right way as a diocesan family as the Church orders. The Bishop condemned some liturgical aberrations he has observed in the diocese and directed as follows:

It is not accepted for a priest to intone another song(s) after the entrance hymn before starting Mass.There should be no running around the church to announce lectionary procession before it begins. The announcement of lectionary procession should be done at the back of the church before the procession. When the Lectionary has been handed to a main celebrant the people who processed with it should bow and return to their seats quietly before the readings.

That Christians should listen to the Word of God as it is being proclaimed during Mass without flipping and reading through their newsletters. A minute of silence should be observed after the first and second readings and after the homily. The Responsorial Psalm should be taken from the Lectionary and should correspond with the readings.The Creed should be sung or recited and when sung it must be solemn and not a period of dancing.

The Offertory Procession should begin with altar gifts. The assembly is not expected to stand during this procession.The duplication and improvisation of many offertories during Sunday liturgy is not allowed.

There should be two collections on Sundays and Holidays of Obligation. Exception could be during Harvest Thanksgivings and fund-raising for particular projects.

Singing and dancing during offertory must be reverential, and songs without sound theological teaching should not be used. Communicants should not dance to go and receive communion.

Seminarians or Temporary Professed Religious should not distribute communion in Mamfe Diocese without a special faculty from the Diocesan Bishop.Only Priests are allowed to bring or take the Consecrated Hosts to the Tabernacle and during that moment, no one should stand as they have just received Jesus.

Perpetually Professed Religious are not allowed to expose and repose the Blessed Sacrament in chapels without the expressed permission of the Bishop.

Priests should celebrate Mass with reverence and follow the Rubrics strictly without turning Mass into some wild Pentecostal concert.

Announcement during Mass should be brief and when coming to Mass, Christians, especially the youth, must dress decently and not wear things that expose their bodies or cause distractions.

Composers and music directors should compose new ordinary parts of the Mass according to the New Translation of the Roman Missal. However, in Mamfe Diocese, the ordinaries of the Mass that were in use before the New Rite can still be used at Mass as they were composed.
Abridged version from the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter

By Rev. Fr. Michel Tchoumbou

I have a few lists of “dos” and “don’ts” in my mind. They are lessons learned from life. One of them is titled: ‘My guide on getting along with a born-again.’ I go back to it often to revise it depending on what I experience or observe. My mind keeps going back to my list because I am yet to recover from a recent encounter I had with a born-again. My list makes me think of my very good friend. I shall call her, Sylvia.

Sylvia is a well educated evangelical Christian. I think of her as being on the radical side of Christianity. She reads and knows her Bible almost to her finger tips. She is always ready to share the Word of God and uses every opportunity she has to evangelise.

I remember spending hours talking about the Bible when I first met Sylvia. We argued most of the time and even raised our voices when doing so. As a young Theology student, I remember refusing to give in to her challenges. I also challenged her understanding of the Bible with all that I was learning from the seminary. Sylvia herself never gave up trying to prove me wrong as well. Each time I felt challenged, I also took time to look for challenging responses for her as well. She did exactly the same. So, more and more our conversations became passionate but tasteless, leading us both to anger and frustration most of the time.

One day, suddenly, we both decided there was no point arguing over the same issues. We agreed not to talk about the Bible in ways that will make us argue. The rule was that when someone begins a passionate argument the other person had to stay quiet.

That became my first rule of dealing with a fundamentalist or Pentecostal friend: “don’t argue”, you cannot win them over by arguing with them. They have ready-made provocative questions about your faith that will make you feel insecure. Sometimes they claim to know your faith better than you do, and talk to you based on false knowledge about your own faith. If you are not well informed about your faith or if you are not capable of finding out more about your faith, you might feel that they have answers that you do not have.

This brings me to the second rule: Learn your doctrine. That you do not know an answer to a question does not mean that there are no answers to it. Your faith is at its weakest when you are in doubt. Seek answers to your doubts; read the Catechism, use the Internet, ask a more enlightened person around you.

My third rule: Be charitable and kind. When St. Paul says that heated arguments alone might not help the Galatians in doubt, he gives them one advice: “Do not get tired of doing good” (Galatians 6:9). Witnessing our faith through visible and invisible works of charity is one of the greatest advantages we have as Catholics. Most of the times we do not have to use words as proofs to our faith; our actions centred on what Christ asks of us is the most eloquent of all arguments.

In recent years, my relationship with Sylvia has become more spiritual than verbal. We exchange messages from our different Sunday readings. We seek out each other when we need prayers. We share Christian inspirational verses and song. Yet deep inside, we each know our boundaries and we try to respect them. We have learnedto accept that we are different, even in some of the most basic things that make us Christians.

For example, sometime ago, Sylvia and I tried to undertake a common project that would benefit some disadvantaged children. It soon struck me that her idea of doing charity, influenced by her faith, was so different from mine. She saw our project as a “church-planting” project. It was going to be an opportunity to meet and invite disadvantaged children to what she called a “Bible-inspired-faith,” and subsequently to “her church.” I could not bring her to see otherwise. Whereas for me, I was simply trying, in my own little way, to do what Jesus asks of us in Matthew 25 – “whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers…” Needless to say she soon continued without me.

To accept our differences and to carry each other with faith and charity is, most of the time, all we need to get along with certain colleagues, friends and family members with whom it is hard to communicate and share our faith otherwise.

By Ireneaus Chongwain Chia

The Parish Priest of SS Pater and Paul Parish, Okoyong, Mamfe Diocese, Rev. Fr. Gilbert Aurore Tuekam Nguegno, is appealing for assistance from Christians and people of goodwill to help the parish implement its 2014/2015 Pastoral Plan.

In an August 27, 2014 dated letter which Fr. Tuekam personally left in the L’Effort Camerounais newsroom, the parish priest says because of the present difficult financial situation the parish is facing from poor alms and Mass offering, poor marking of contribution card and the fear of commitment from Christians, SS Peter and Paul Parish Okoyong is finding difficulties to implement its ambitious 2014/2015 Pastoral Plan.

The above-mentioned difficulties “--- make the life of a pastor a very challenging journey. And we are conscious that is what Christ is expecting from us. At the same time, we count on Divine providence to provide us with the means we need for evangelisation and we are conscious the Divine Providence will manifest Herself to us through your generosity,” Fr. Tuekam indicates in his appeal letter.

Apart from the traditional and sacramental parish activities like celebrating Mass and administering the Sacraments, SS Peter and Paul Parish Okoyong has its own proper projects to renovate and extend its presbytery, renovate its Catholic primary school, build a Divine Mercy Shrine and a water system.

To ensure its self-reliance as recommended in Ecclesia In Africa, the Pastoral Plan of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province and the January 2014 Resolutions of the Mamfe Diocesan Meeting on Pastoral and Economic Strategies Towards A New Evangelisation And A self Reliant Diocese, it intends to open a plantain farm and an orchard, and start a poultry.

SS Peter and Paul Parish Okoyong is very strategic in Mamfe Diocese as it is the host parish of the recently created second Major Seminary of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, St. John Paul II Major Seminary, and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Catholic University of Bamenda, Cameroon, CATUC. It also hosts one of the oldest and well known Catholic College in Cameroon, The Queen of Rosary College, Okoyong.

You can contact the Parish Priest on 77 74 52 12 and 99 81 85 04.

By Jude Abanseka

The Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda, His Lordship Agapitus Nfon, has urged Priests and the Religious to be true witnesses to the life they have chosen. Catholic Church’s growth in Bamenda Archdiocese. He was speaking on Saturday, October 4, 2014, during the Final Profession of two Passionist Sisters: Sisters Marie Fides Ngang Petra and Marie Rita Perpetua Machambue at St. Theresa’s Parish Azire.

Bishop Nfon said it is important for all priests and consecrated people to examine themselves constantly to see if they are living as they have chosen. He regretted that some clergy and religious are scandalously involved in the ways of the world and are chasing riches to the extent that conmen are even duping them. He decried the harm this sophisticated and luxurious life is having on the laity who usually look up to the clergy for exemplary conduct.

Bishop Nfon said many people usually wonder why some people abandon the pleasures of today’s world for a life of permanent poverty and chastity. He said sometimes they may even be seen as mad. He, however, encouraged the Sisters to respect the vow of poverty for Christ and even their founder, St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day it was, and who abandoned all riches for a life of absolute poverty.

Mgr. Agapitus urged the candidates to persevere in their calling by emulating Job who persevered in his suffering because he trusted in God’s will and in the end his reward was an immeasurable blessing from God. The Bishop added that as the Sisters contemplate the Passion of Christ they should hope for glory because there is no suffering without victory, no cross without a crown, just as there would have been no Easter Sunday, were there no Good Friday. He called on them to learn to forgive as Christ always does. “Christ even forgave his assailants while hanging on the cross they nailed him to.”

He cautioned them that this can only be successfully done if they pray without ceasing.
Bishop Agapitus said the two Sisters should attract more young English speaking Cameroonian girls to the congregation since they were just the fourth and fifth Cameroonians to have made Final Profession in the congregation and only the third and fourth English speaking Cameroonians to do so. He said they shall successfully achieve this through the life they shall live.

The Final Profession rites began after the sermon. The Sisters came up to the altar, declared their intentions after which the Litany of Saints was sung as they lay prostrate. Next they read out and signed their final commitment pledge, and finally knelt for prayers and blessings from the Consecrating Minister. They were then given rings and crowns as a sign that they were married to Christ and are now expected to join their spouse in His suffering.

At the end of the heavily-attended Holy Mass, the Finally Professed Sisters led the Magnificat in thanksgiving to God. The event which also marked the congregation’s 28th anniversary in Cameroon brought together 18 concelebrating priests and numerous Religious Men and Women of various congregations. North West Governor Lele L’Afrique and his entourage were also present.

Who are Passionist Sisters?
The Sisters of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, also known as the Passionist Sisters, are a contemplative institution of the Third Order Regular Rule of St. Francis. Sr. Josepha Halasinski founded the congregation in 1918 in Poland to provide care to the sick and street children. It is present in Poland, Italy, Canada and Cameroon since October 4, 1986. In Cameroon the Sisters are in Bertoua, Batouri, Yaoundé and Bamenda, precisely in Santa Mbei Parish, for one year now.

By Jude Abanseka

Thirty-eight couples of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Azire, Small Mankon have raised their union through the Sacrament Holy Matrimony during their parish feast day. The twin-event opened with a Eucharistic celebration on Sunday, October 5, 2014 in the Parish Church.

In his homily, the Parish Priest and main celebrant, Rev. Fr. Charles Ngoubi, briefly recounted the life of the parish patron saint. He noted that her greatest desire of being a missionary was only achieved long after her death as her relics toured and enhanced evangelisation in 400 countries and their parish was one of its beneficiaries.

Fr. Ngoubi said this was a lesson for others to learn and be missionaries wherever they are. He said the missionary theme is important because the day’s readings talked about the need for workers in God’s vine yard. The preacher thanked God for the 38 couples, some who had been cohabiting for close to 50 years, and who finally accepted God’s call to bless their unions in Church.

The parish priest added that if there was nothing to be happy about on that day, the congregation should at least rejoice over the fact that the 38 new couples will from that moment on be receiving the Eucharist which is the source and summit of the Mass. He noted that the parish was following Pope Francis’ example who last month blessed the marriage of 28 couples. He stressed that the family is the Church’s and the world’s foundation and informed the congregation of the Synod for the Family which open that same day in Rome and will end on October 19, 2014.

Fr. Ngoubi explained that Pope Francis has selected 24 couples who have joined other synod participants in the deliberations, thus showing the importance the Church gives to the family. He read a prayer which Pope Francis has also published which is being said in all churches during the ongoing synod. He noted that “If there are no good families, there cannot be good Gospel sharing groups, no good Small Christian Communities and, above all, there cannot be a good church.”

He added that some families suffer violence, hatred and division and this affects the society in which such families are found. He then urged all families present to be good examples for others to follow in their neighbourhood. He, however, said that this can only be possible if families implore the Holy Spirit to help them in their endeavours to live exemplary marriage lives.

The marriage rite followed the sermon as the main celebrant invited the 38 couples and their witnesses to the sanctuary, which, of course, was too small to conveniently hold everyone. To safe time, the officiating minister led all the men to speak to the women in unison and vice versa. All the grooms then gave rings to their brides at the same time and vice versa.

Addressing the congregation when Mass ended, the spokesperson for the newly wedded couples noted that one’s wedding is the only important event in his/her life that he/she is opportune to celebrate considering that only others celebrate his/her birth and death. He promised that they were going to live the marital vows they had just made to the full. The joyful and colourful event culminated in feasting in the parish hall before subsequent celebrations in the newly wedded couples’ homes.

By Fr. Peter A. Foleng, SD and Ms. Linda Ngonga

On Friday, September 12, 2014, the Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, was host to an Ebola Conference. Following the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in parts of Africa and which has sent shock waves down the backs of all health ministries and governments across Africa and beyond, the Research Directorate of the Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, organised an informative and educative conference on the virus.

The public conference held under the theme: Clinical Innovations, Developments in the Diagnosis, Management and Prevention of Ebola Virus (Marburg fever) and Hemorrhagic Fevers. It fell in line with CATUC’s mission statement of carrying out outreach activities to inform, educate, sensitise, and to be a sentry to the public on life issues. This conference was mainly on the spatial distribution of Ebola, its virology, impacts, nursing care, recommendations and charting a way forward.

The conference provided an opportunity for all medical and health care personnel and interested people to meet and learn about the scourge that is plaguing some parts of West Africa and threatening the whole continent. It also provided an opportunity to share and network. Participants therefore specifically shared ideas on the transmission, prevention, management and containment of the virus.

Lucas Wirba, HOD, Geography and Environmental Studies, CATUC, talked on the Geographical perspectives of Ebola, highlighting the spatial distribution, areas of emergence and re-emergence and the virus’ impact.

An Anthropologist and CATUC DVCA, Prof. Paul Nkwi, reviewed the cultural and anthropological practices that pose a risk factor for Ebola outbreak in Cameroon. Professor Nkwi said in the face of a calamity like Ebola, culture may eventually disappear and that ignoring the local culture can be counterproductive. He laid emphasis on understanding how people respond to epidemics, and sensitising and keeping traditional rulers informed of the danger. He encouraged the introduction of an ethno-medical approach in the fight against Ebola.

A PhD research fellow, CATUC, Elvis Tata, tackled the Zoonotic Transmission of the Ebola Virus. He gave the virus types, their molecular structure and symptoms. He explained that animals like bats and primates are the main hosts of these viruses whereas pigs are only hosts to some strands. He indicated that the virus is destroyed in temperatures above 65o C when exposed for more than five minutes. He advised participants to be conscious of what they eat and to meticulously practice general hygiene.

Professor Philip Egbe, Provost, of the School of Health and Medical Sciences, CATUC, dwelt on the human to human transmission of the Ebola Virus. He explained the methods of transmission and prevention and urged participants to wash their hands frequently with soap and clean running water, to use hand sanitisers, avoid overcrowded areas and hospitals, abstain from eating “bush” meat, and to be cautious when handling pets. He asked health workers to use barrier nursing techniques and outlined the importance of early diagnosis and isolation. He said so far no basic standard treatment is available for Ebola.

A CATUC Biochemist, Polycarp Chia, presented the laboratory diagnostic tools for checking Ebola viral infections. He talked on clinical observation and mentioned that diseases share signs and symptoms. He therefore called on health workers to be vigilant, to carry out constant surveillance and notification, take precautions and follow the right procedures when collecting specimens, to ensure proper laboratory test timings, storage, packing and transportation of specimens to avoid bioterrorism.

The Regional Delegate of Livestock and Fisheries, Dr. Tebo gave a talk on Animal Quarantine Strategy for Ebola Viral Infection Containment. He stressed the need for collaboration and engagement of other stakeholders. He acknowledged that a lot of work still has to be done in this domain and recommended the identification of reservoirs and active surveillance in susceptible animal host population.

The conference convener and Director of Research, CATUC, Dr. Kenneth Yongabi, expounded on Phytopharmaceuticals and Phytomedicine in the Prevention and Control of Ebola Virus laying emphasis on the fact that boosting the immune defense mechanism remains the most effective proven method of treating viral infections. These immune boosters are components found in some plants species like moringa and the most talked about bitter cola which contain active anti-viral substances. He, however, warned that he was not recommending that moringa and bitter cola are treatments for Ebola.

A CCU Bali lecturer, James Ndipowa, and a nurse at the General Hospital, Mary Bih Suh, talked on strategic nursing care in Ebola viral outbreak and nursing care plan for Ebola viral patient at the intensive care unit. Speaking on the BEPHA Coordinator for Bamenda Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Joseph Ateh’s behalf, Dr. Vivian Nkumbah, in charge of the BEPHA office, Archdiocese of Bamenda, explained the role of the health insurance scheme (BEPHA).

Jude Waindim gave the Bamenda City Council, BCC, updates on the level of hygiene and sanitation in the face of Ebola threats. He highlighted the measures that the BCC is putting in place to ensure proper hygiene and sanitation in the near future like increasing the number of trash bins, encouraging the installation of private mobile toilets and urinals around town and setting up an incinerator and recycling plant. He added that the BCC is open to biogas and renewable energy projects from experts.

Participants highlighted the need for a strategic seminar to run for more than a day. CATUC Vice Chancellor thanked the participants and stressed the need to pray and trust in God especially when certain issues are seemingly mysterious. He concluded that a healthy soul is always in a healthy body.

By Rev. Fr. Pascal Alban Noudjom Tchana

Divination is almost a fashion nowadays and it has become the modern prayer. People wake up, tune on their radios; and as they take their breakfast, they all listen or read to what the horoscope predicts for the day. And accordingly, they spend the day, in sadness or in joy, without knowing the vision that has been brutally forced on them.

Many others; the fact that they are Catholic, Christians or Moslem does not matter, when faced with difficulties and challenges like succeeding in exams, winning in competitions, securing husbands, having children, flourishing in business, and overcoming enemies, they tend to be professionals in seeking answers far from God or Mohamed. They run to charlatans, soothsayer, fortune and oracle tellers and astrologers.

This practice is getting worse today with the advent of the Internet and mobile phones. Through these modern means of communications, users have the possibility of consulting online astrology pages. Faced with this growing trend, what is the Church’s stand? What does the Church say about astrology? Why is the Church against Catholics relying on and using the horoscope? To better understand the Church’s position on the subject, it is important to understand what divination means and thereafter explore what the Scriptures and the Church Fathers say.

What is divination?
The Oxford Dictionary defines divination as the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. It comes from the Latin word divinare, meaning “to predict”, “to foresee” or “to be inspired by a god.”

Divination has often been used in the past to scrutinise the future and to foretell what is to happen. It was done by playing or throwing cards, reading palms, or exploring astral signs. The Holy Scriptures condemns the practice of divination and other related practices like horoscope. Deuteronomy 18:10 says, “There shall not be found among you . . . anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens.” I Samuel 15:10 compares rebellion to the “sin of divination.” In 2 Kings 17:16-17, practicing divination is listed as one of the reasons for Israel’s exile. In Jeremiah 14:14 it is said, “They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.”

So, when compared to God’s truth, divination is false, deceitful, and worthless (Deut. 4:19, 17:3; Jer19:12–13; 2Kings 21:3–5, 2 Kings 23:4 Zeph. 1:4–6; Jer. 8:2; Acts16: 16-19) Following the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church are opposed to the practices of divination and horoscope.

Tertullian
"We observe among the arts also some professions liable to the charge of idolatry. Of astrologers, there should be no speaking even; but since one these days has challenged us, defending on his own behalf perseverance in that profession, I will use a few words. I allege not that he honours idols, whose names he has inscribed on the heaven, to whom he has attributed all God’s power. . . . One proposition I lay down: that those angels, the deserters of God [demons] . . . were likewise the discoverers of this curious art [astrology], on that account also condemned by God" (Idolatry 9 [A.D. 211]).

Synod of Laodicea
"They who are of the priesthood or of the clergy shall not be magicians, enchanters, [planetary] ‘mathematicians,’ or astrologers" (Canon 36 [A.D. 362]).

Athanasius
"They [astrologers] have fabricated books which they call books of [astrological] tables, in which they show stars, to which they have given the names of saints. And therein of a truth they have inflicted on themselves a double reproach, those who have written such books, because they have perfected themselves in a lying and contemptible science [astrology], and as to the ignorant and simple, they have led them astray by evil thoughts concerning the right faith established in truth and upright in the presence of God" (Easter Letter 39:1 [A.D. 367]).

Augustine
"To whom then must we make an answer first—to the heretics or to the astrologers? For both come from the serpent, and desire to corrupt the Church’s virginity of heart, which she holds in undefiled faith" (Homilies on John 8:10 [A.D. 416]).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses this issue extensively in part three (Life in Christ) Section Two (The Ten Commandments) Chapter One (You shall love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind). In no. 2116 and 2117, it condemns all forms of divination and all practices of magic or sorcery.

No. 2116: “All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honour, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”

No. 2117: “ All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.”

In short, the Catholic Church condemns divination and the horoscope because it is false, deceitful, and worthless. It can bring great harm to those who abide by it. I remember reading an article on bibliomancy where the following story was told of somebody who went to the Bible to know what the future has for him. “So he closed his eyes, opened the Bible randomly, and stuck his finger on the page. He opened his eyes and read Matthew 27:5, “Judas . . . went away and hanged himself.” Not liking that answer, the man tried again. This time, his finger landed on Luke 10:37, “Go and do likewise.” Again, not liking that answer, the man tried again. This time his finger landed on John 13:27, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” (See in http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-divination.html)

Our faith in God is not based on mere and irrational beliefs. We are invited to develop a faith that is informed by reason. At times, providently, we may fall on one or the other verse that will fit very well with the situation we are experiencing. However, this does not spare us from the fact that God’s word is first and foremost to be studied, meditated and lived. As somebody puts it, “We are to study God’s Word intently, not randomly.”

Nobody apart from God knows the future. To presume the contrary is to see oneself as a god and in so doing become an idolater of oneself.

By Noël Jean Fogang Neguim

Some faithful relate to the horoscope as a useful tool amid the uncertainties of human life on earth, whereas based on their faith and reason others dismiss it out rightly.The horoscope, a description of what is going to happen to somebody in the future based on the position of the stars and the planets when the person is born, is a challenge to many Catholic Christians nowadays.

Shying away from the faith-filled confidence and Christ-like surrender to divine providence for their protection and the fulfillment of their needs as the Sacred Scriptures recommend, many sons and daughters of the Church simply act carefree upon their swollen curiosity and hardness of heart.

They do so, some argue, to avert any predictable misfortune. Modern tools, such as those provided by the media of mass communication, pave their path. “My astrological sign is fish. I started consulting the horoscope two years ago. A former classmate and fellow parishioner introduced me to it, saying it is thanks to it that she bonded with her husband and is able to manage her daily life. Since then, I have grown almost addicted to the horoscope. I do read it in newspapers and on the Internet, just as I tune in to follow it on radio stations and television channels everyday”, a 32 year-old single and jobless accountant, Elizabeth M., says.

In spite of the horoscope’s appeal to contemporary men and women in the secular setting and in the Church, however, numerous Christians oppose it adamantly. Some do with a reason, while others reject it because of their faith in the Crucified and Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. A 21-year old university student and catechumen, Godwin C., considers the horoscope’s occasional coincidence with the truth as a mere stroke of luck and nothing more. “Sorry! I am no soulless animal at all. I am a human being, created in God’s image and likeness. I would rather die trying to be the Salt of the earth and the Light of the world as Jesus calls his followers to be, than buy the lies of any godless storyteller or institution. By the way, when reading my Bible four days ago, I was struck by an exhortation from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. It reads, ‘I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.’ If need be, I would say, that is my horoscope”, the young man explained.

Godwin’s testimony, some pastors of souls say, highlights the need for a sound continuous Christian formation for the baptised and catechetical training of people seeking to join the Catholic Church.

By Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai (AMDG)

A defining trait of human beings is the desire to plan for the future, or to secure or guarantee one’s life choices in the long run. Even social schemes like pensions, njangis, and “country meetings,” all have the element of security and planning for the future. Even children are seen as guarantees of the future: “Truly children are a gift from the Lord, a blessing, the fruit of the womb. Indeed the children of youth are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. O the happiness of the man who has filled his quiver with these arrows! He will have no cause for shame when he disputes with his foes in the gateway” (Ps 127:3-5).

The beauty about all these social groups, cultural and even biblical expressions, is that they reflect the human conviction formulated in such African sayings as: “One hand cannot tie a bundle!” and “Many hands do light work!” However, it is also the case that human beings can allow the desire to secure the future to a point of a nervous breakdown. This desire can move to the level of fear. When not managed, fear has led and continues to lead many to seek and inquire about what the future holds for them, in a practice which Catholic tradition calls divination. At other instances, people have taken to divination to forestall an apparent evil, perhaps after the death of a loved one considered to have occurred under mysterious circumstances.

Situating the practice of divination in its treatment of the First Commandment, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has this exhortation to Catholics: “All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honour, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone” (CCC, 2116). This text gives a succinct and profound explanation of what divination is all about. The context is also meaningful.

To place divination as a sin against the First Commandment invites the Catholic to examine the quality of his or her internal orientation to the claim God made in revealing Himself as the Lord! In revelation, God reveals that He is the source of all that is, not in some general abstract sense, but in that he knows me, wills me, and wants my good. I am not some accidental product of evolution. I am known and loved. My life is a creative gift from God, and how I live that life is a gift I make to God.

Christian revelation tells me that the gift of my life does not end here. That after this earthly life is over, I will live with God forever. Christian revelation tells me also that it takes a certain kind of way of living this life to be able to live with God forever. Precisely because of this larger picture, I am invited to a different kind of life in this world, in preparation for the next. Time is short, eternity long.

What does this different kind of life, this utter submission mean, and how does this relate and challenge the practice of divination? Why is divination theologically incompatible with what it means to be a Catholic? The answer could be simple and direct: because it goes against the invitation of faith, which is the human response to God: “No one can please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith calls me to place my life in God’s hands. Faith is total. Faith is ongoing and persevering.

In living out the invitation of faith, the Christian can experience a darkness of faith. In Thomistic terms, the Christian can be attracted away from the Creator to the creature, from the gift of faith in God to the absoluteness of people and things in this world. The Christian can even go away from the trust and the hope that faith proposes. The Christian, out of fear, can think and feel that God is too weak to protect him or her, especially when faced with the crushing mystery of death and evil. Could this feeling of God’s weakness and powerlessness help explain why many African Catholics go to diviners for information and protection when faced with tragic circumstances? The darkness of faith is nothing new in Christendom. Even when a Catholic lapses into divination and other forms of sorcery, the response is not despair and exclusion.

The Christian is called to rediscover that not even the death of a loved one has the final say in what it means to be Christian. When faced with the darkness of divination and sorcery, the sure, steady and healthy path is to once again re-propose the beauty of the faith in its whole range: a rediscovery of the beauty and life-giving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ; a rediscovery of the presence of Jesus in the gift of the Eucharist; a rediscovery of the closeness, support and presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary in forms like the Rosary and other Marian Novenas; a rediscovery of fasting and mortification; a rediscovery of the supportive presence of our Christian brothers and sisters, that I am not believing alone, but I am with others, the I and the WE of the faith; the ancient practice of retreats and recollections, and other spiritual experiences that foster spiritual rebirth.

At the root of the option for sorcery and divination is therefore a crisis of faith, and the profound and meaningful response is a re-proposal and recommitment to faith, a re-proposal of the beauty and life of Jesus Christ. In the final analysis, the most important invitation after a relapse into divination and sorcery is the example of the Prodigal Son: “Yes, I shall arise, and return to my Father” (Luke 15:18) –

Christian conversion is the antidote to the fear that leads to the recourse to divination and sorcery. It invites me to the better life of placing my life and all its challenges in God’s hands, trusting that everything will finally work out for the good of those who love God. It is about rediscovering God’s healing love as the decisive path of my new life in Christ Jesus, a life whose present and future is all in God’s wonderful plan. Hence, I need not allow the gift of my life to be destroyed by a fear of the future. God knows me. God loves me. God wants my good. My future is in God’s hands.

By Ireneaus Chongwain Chia

We are living in a world that is undergoing perpetual scientific, intellectual and moral mutations. Due to a multiplicity of viewpoints and precepts, which sometimes stultify each other, many are left standing at the crossroads confused as they do not know which direction to take. At such times the Church, as a moral and spiritual authority, becomes a safe haven and compass for them, as by her very nature and mission, she stands on a moral trajectory that defies the temporariness and pettiness of human concerns, however noble humans rate them.

If the Church were to fail in her mission, allowing these limiting temporary concerns to overshadow her spiritual and therefore eternal or timeless mission, and falls into the trap of just doing “business” as usual, the consequences will indisputably be unimaginable. And what better way is there to teach and transform than practicing what one preaches.

When he was once questioned about the ills plaguing the contemporary Church and if they do not put to question her holy nature, Douala Emeritus Archbishop Christian Cardinal Tumi explained that the Church is not holy because her leaders and the faithful are morally upright, but simply because Christ is the Church’s head. To determine the Church’s strength exclusively on the moral uprightness of her authorities and faithful will at best be ridiculously simplistic and at worst presumptuous as our human weaknesses are some of our defining characteristics. But should this be an excuse for permissiveness?

There are claims of corruption, tribalism, human rights abuses and injustice, just to name these few, in the Church and that the secular and political order is increasingly influencing and dictating the Church’s modus operandi; and these claims can be dangerous for it is supposed to be the other way round, the danger is not that these ills exist in the Church as such, but that they are allowed to flourish and become institutionalised. When the Church, for example, sees a corrupt situation and deliberately looks the other way, it becomes a moral failing as she has sinned through omission or by condoning evil.

Though not directly related to the Church, Pope Francis points out in Evangelii Gaudium the consequences that evil can have when it is allowed to thrive. “Just as goodness tends to spread, the toleration of evil, which is injustice, tends to expand its baneful influence and quietly to undermine any political and social system, no matter how solid it may appear. If every action has its consequences, an evil embedded in the structures of a society has a constant potential for disintegration and death.”

Yet these setbacks provide ideal occasions for the Church to play her role and become stronger in carrying out her mission, for what is the value of gold that has not been tested. Through the conduct of her affairs, the Church cannot afford to establish negative referrals for herself. The Catholic teacher’s pay should not be referred to as a “catechist salary”, giving the impression that such a teacher is being deprived of his rightful due, but if such a nomenclature cannot be altered, let it then be that the Church did her best to pay him within the means available and not with any malicious intention to foster unasked and undesired frugality. Let claims of tribalism not be founded on irrefutable and overt evidence, but if such were the case, let it simply be that the selection criterion was objectively and dispassionately applied and people from a particular tribe were selected on required conditions and not through the intervention of a Church official.

In an increasingly acerbic world, the Church should be and remains a source of hope for many groping about in the dark. Were she to deliberately deviate from her corrective and moralising role and conform to the ways of the world, where will the suffering majority turn to? For when pressure builds up and secular forces impose their dictates, the Church should actually be a counter force and not simply allow her own inadequacies to come cascading like water through fissures in a dam, only helping to increase the flood and making drowning a certainty for those looking for an escape route.

By Gladys Ambo Ndibang

VOPS relentless efforts in promoting self –reliant programmes

Many prisons do not have functional rehabilitation centres, or programmes which can help them acquire useful skills to make them self-reliant when they are released from prison. There are no training programmes to help ex-prisoners improve on their lives. Statistics indicate that over 40 percent of those in prison had no jobs before going to prison. Ninety (90) percent of those who had jobs will lose their jobs because of their imprisonment. Ninety (90) of those who have a prison record will not find employment because of their prison record and stigma.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 67 percent of people released from prison will likely commit new offences and return to prison within three years. Thus, rehabilitation and formation programmes to provide self-reliant skills should be mandatory if recidivism needs to be curbed. To achieve this, governments, the community, Churches, NGOs and the inmates themselves must work in partnership.

Victim Offender Prison Care Support, VOPS, is therefore, a non-profit social structure of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon that offers holistic care to all those affected by crime, be they victims, offenders or the community. It works on crime prevention care during and after imprisonment, by offering opportunities, skills and support for a smooth reinsertion into the society.

Rehabilitation and Reinsertion

VOPS coordinator Rev. Sr. Jacqueline Atabong, explains that rehabilitation is holistic as a person is “whole” and must be treated in his/her entirety for effective reinsertion. She says the moral, spiritual, psycho-social and socio –economic aspects must be looked into and personalised. As part of its holistic care approach, VOPS has thus built a home in Yassa (even though incomplete), where these recidivists are given a chance to spend a maximum of two and a half years while learning a trade and benefiting from professional support.

In the Douala Newbell Prison, VOPS has two computer training centres where inmates learn computer software applications and maintenance and receive certificates from College de la Salle. To that effect a cyber café and a shop have been constructed in front of the prison to create employment for ex-prisoners. They also keep themselves busy in sewing workshops. There, inmates of all nationalities learn sewing and stitch many items including sports wears, school uniforms, and dresses. Women generally use the hair dressing saloon. Those who know the trade train others who express the interest to learn. Apart from styling, they equally sell beauty products. Meantime, jewelry-making has taken a turn for the better and has become a major occupation in the prison. Many women and men have developed great creative skills and earn their livelihood from it. More than 50 prisoners are involved in this activity. There is equally a bakery that offers training and employment mainly to ex-prisoners resident in the Yassa Rehabilitation Centre. However, nonresident ex-detainees and crime-prone groups are also admitted to the training and could be recruited to work in the bakery.

Apart from these trainings, inmates of the New Bell Prison receive moral, spiritual and psycho-social rehabilitation to prepare them for a better reinsertion into the society. As such, VOPS offers them retreats, lectures, prayers, and seminars in line with the biblical prescription, “I was in prison and you visited me”. (Mt 25:36)

By Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai (AMDG)

Church Historians and Vatican watchers are telling us that a confrontation like that had never been seen before, perhaps not even at the Second Vatican Council. Soon after nine on Thursday, October 16, 2014, the General Secretary to the Synod, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, took to the floor and announced that the relationes of the circuli minores would not be made public, a reverse course from what had always happened in the past and that was affirmed in the previous days.

In other words, only the Relatio post disceptationem, which Cardinal Peter Erdo signed and which Archbishop Bruno Forte wrote, would have been fed to the press. Cardinal George Pell rose up strongly against Cardinal Baldisseri’s novelty. After him, a long line of Fathers, from the Archbishop of Brussels, Abp. Léonard, to that of Durban, Cardinal Napier, asked that the matter be, at least, put to a vote. Even the Secretary of State took the floor.

At the end, as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said at a press conference some hours later that, "the decision to render public the relationes of the circuli was taken by a large majority." The texts are clear, and go in an opposite direction as the one upheld by Cardinal Walter Kasper. The Major Archbishop of Kiev, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, spoke directly of the need of "sending a clear message to the faithful and to the Pope" on the fact that "the family is the stable, faithful, and sacramental union between a man and a woman."

The most controversial and delicate points, from the question of the approaching of remarried divorcees to the Eucharist, to the overture to homosexual unions, were dismantled almost unanimously because many Synod Fathers said very little had been discussed of same sex unions - not more than three interventions in the assembly -yet Monday's Relatio spoke about it ad abundantiam.

A clear consequence of Cardinal Baldisseri's miss-steps and Kasper's anti-African interview to Edward Pentin, led to the addition of one African, Cardinal Napier, and also an Australian, Abp. Dennis Hart of Melbourne, to the original six-man papal drafting committee. Cardinal Kasper has since denied the interview he gave to Edward Pentin, who responded by pasting the recorded interview online. Cardinal Kasper has now been publicly revealed, thanks to the Pentin interview and his denial as a man filled with incomprehensible anti-Christian racial superiority. On a trip to the US that took him to Boston College and Fordham University, New York and other cities, Kasper even made sarcastic side comments about Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI’s liturgical reforms. His criticisms did not stop there. The eventual target was Humanae Vitae of Blessed Paul VI, a magisterial document that has turned out to be very prophetic in many ways.

Take number 17 for example: “Let men and women first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. (Humane Vitae, 17).

Why Cardinal Kasper cannot see that changing Church discipline cannot ignore a change in Church doctrine remains a puzzle. If the second marriage is not “in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39), then the words of Christ to the Samaritan woman is applicable: “You are right in saying ‘I have no husband, for you have five husbands, and he whom you now have in not your husband; this you said truly” (John 4:17-18).

In this case, not only will the Church be ignoring the clear and stern admonition of Our Lord on divorce and remarriage as constituting adultery (Mathew 19:9; Mark 10:10-12); but the will be guilty of facilitating the situation described by St. Paul: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27).

Cardinal George Pell said it all: “On the question of divorce and remarriage, I am sticking with Jesus!” Kasper has to be reminded that the solution to the empty pews in the German Church is not a dilution of Christ’s teaching! The Lutherans already did that and the pews became emptier. The Church of England did that and more Moslems go to the Mosques on Fridays than Anglicans go to the Church on Sundays in England! A crisis of faith is met by a robust re-proposal of the joy of the gospel, to cite Pope Francis. At a time when the world is confused about the very meaning of marriage and the family, Catholicism owes the future of civilisation the duty of offering to the world, once more, the beauty of marriage, “in the Lord,” – a union of one man and one woman, exclusive and open to the gift of life, forever – symbolising the “forever” love of Christ for the Church (Ephesians 5:32-33). This is not the time for heterodoxy hidden under a false sense of “mercy” to dominate a Synod of Bishops. Catholicism cannot afford to speak from both sides of the mouth on the issue of marriage and the family. Fortunately, the Church has a rich magisterium to draw from: Casti Connubi, Gaudium et Spes, Humanae Vitae, Familiaris Consortio, Evangelium Vitae, Deus Caritas Est, Evangelii Gaudium, the Catechism of the Catholic Church,and above all, the Sacred Scriptures, not leaving out the teaching of Fathers of the Church.

We thank God that the 2014 sausage-making synod is over. We thank God for the bishops who stood for the faith of our fathers and mothers. Now is the time to journey deeply into the timeless teachings of our Holy Mother, the Church. Now is the time for Kasper to retire to a monastery and pray for the Church! Benedict XVI showed a wonderful example of the apostolate of prayer worth emulating, when he abdicated the throne of Peter to take up the new position “at the foot of the cross” – in his own words, to pray for the Church!

Holy Father’s address to the Bishops of Cameroon

Nigeria and Boko Haram : lessons for Cameroon

Church icon in Bamenda Archdiocese passes on

Principles for pastoral governing

LAMP FOR MY STEPS: Meet society in the bus

The Call to Consecrated Life is not for apostolates Rome-based lecturer says

Bishop Nkea issues First Pastoral Letter, cautions against Pentecostal influences on Catholic worship

No. 588. September 24 to October 08, 2014.

Let’s just be … (I)

Okoyong SS Peter and Paul Parish Priest appeals for help to implement Pastoral Plan

As two Sisters Finally Profess, Clergy and Religious asked to live as expected

Thirty-eight couples bless union as St. Theresa Parish celebrates feast day

CATUC Bamenda holds Ebola sensitisation conference

Catholic Church’s teaching on divinations, horoscope and related practices

Catholic Christians not unanimous on the horoscope

The Fear of the Future: Catholicism and the Practice of Divination

Moving From Theory To Practice

No. 589 October 08 to October 22, 2014.

The rehabilitation and reinsertion of prisoners : key factors to curb high recidivism rate

2014 Synod of Bishops on the Family: The Triumph of Orthodoxy